I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice: Fear is not a legal requirement for justifiable use of deadly force in Texas. Completely irrelevant. What is relevant is did the mere appearance of the object cause a reasonable and prudent person to believe the item was real to pose immediate and imminent risk of grave bodily harm or death.

Although the person may not have an intention to harm anyone; the escalation of fear (aka. “Pucker-Factor” is still the REAL. A person or LEO might respond with deadly force which could inadvertently cause harm to a bystander or victim. Using a “fake” weapon SHOULD carry the same penalty as if they used a real weapon.

Try screaming that you have a “bomb” next time you’re on an airplane. You might not have a real bomb; however, you are endangering the lives of others by doing so.